Headlines Corporate News booking form includes a wide selection of clauses we wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

To assign to Headlines ownership of the copyright of any material created during the course of the commission;

The going rate for copyright assignment is somewhere between 5x and 10x the basic fee for a typical licensed usage. For a PR commission, a buyout fee should be around £1,500 minimum. From our information that isn't part of the deal. For a single-use fee, Headline demand copyright and q lot else besides.

An offer of work by Headlines Corporate News does not constitute a commission except where confirmed by a Purchase Order;

Try walking out of a restaurant without paying for the nice meal, claiming that unless they have a Purchase Order you won't be paying... This nonsense crops up frequently. Whilst companies often insist on their own staff issuing purchase orders for audit purposes, frequently the procedure gets overllooked by their employees due to urgency. This bureaucratic oversight then becomes an excuse not to pay the photographer. It's not our problem. If they commission and receive the work they have made a contract which has been fulfilled and they owe the money. Refuse clauses like this, they make you hostage to accounts departments.

Payment will be made in full by Headlines Corporate News at the end of the month following the month during which your invoice is received;

That isn't 30 days, it's longer. Even if you accept this, clause 8.2 in the T&C makes even this meaningless, and basically they can pay as late as they like. Read on...

Not to sell or attempt to sell, or offer free of charge, or use for personal or promotional use, any image taken during the course of a commission by Headlines Corporate News;

So you can't re-sell to anyone else, or give away what they have already copyright-grabbed, and you can't use it in your portfolio or even show it to your mum.

4.1 The Seller shall keep Headlines corporate news ltd indemnified in full against all direct, indirect, consequential, financial or economic liability, loss, damages, injury, costs and expenses (including legal and other professional fees and expenses), including but not limited to, loss of profits, loss of sales or turnover, loss of or damage to reputation, loss of contracts, loss of customers, loss of, or loss of use of, any software and / or data, loss of use of any computer or other equipment or plant, wasted management or other staff time and losses or liability under or in relation to any other contract awarded against or incurred or paid by Headlines corporate news ltd as a result of or in connection with:
4.1.1 defective workmanship, quality or materials in the Goods and/or Services occurring within 24 months of delivery or completion;
4.1.2 an infringement or alleged infringement of any IPR caused by the use, manufacture or supply of the Goods and/or Services; and
4.1.3 any claim made against Headlines corporate news ltd in respect of any liability, loss, damage, injury, cost or expense sustained by Headlines corporate news ltd' employees, agents or customers or by any third party, to the extent that such liability, loss, damage, injury, cost or expense was caused by, relates to or arises from the Goods and/or Services.

Far, far too broad. Liability for what the photographer is personally reponsible for is fair enough, but this potentially makes the photographer liable for many things that Headline may do.

5.5 If the Goods are not delivered and/or the Services are not completed on the due date then, without prejudice to any other rights that it may have, Headlines corporate news ltd reserves the right to:
5.5.1 terminate the Contract in whole or in part;
5.5.2 refuse to accept any subsequent delivery of the Goods or performance of the Services;
5.5.3 recover from the Seller any expenditure reasonably incurred by Headlines corporate news ltd in obtaining the Goods and/or Services from another supplier; and
5.5.4 claim damages for any additional costs, losses or expenses incurred by Headlines corporate news ltd, which are in any way attributable to the Seller’s failure to deliver the Goods and/or complete the Services by the delivery date determined by clause 5.2.

So if the subject doesn't show up to the session booked by Headline, so you can't deliver the photos, Headlines can make you pay for someone else to shoot the job later and also claim damages from you.

6.3 The Seller shall prior to the commencement of any work on site insure in any amount not being less than £10,000,000 per event, against its liability for death or personal injury or damage to any property. The terms of the policy shall include provision whereby in the event of any claim being made against Headlines corporate news ltd in respect of which the Seller would be entitled to indemnity under the policy, the insurers will indemnify Headlines corporate news ltd against such claims, including any costs, charges and expenses in respect thereof.

£10m is an exceptionally high level of public liability insurance for a sole trader such as a photographer. And your policy has to not just indemnify you, but them as well.

8.1 The Seller shall invoice Headlines corporate news ltd after delivery of the Goods and/or completion of the Services. Each invoice shall state the order number and Seller’s code as they appear on the face of the Order. Invoices that do not contain this information will not be paid until an invoice that complies with this clause is provided.

They'll be specifiying pink paper and green ink next... Whilst this stuff may be helpful to accounts procedures, it's often staff employees who fail to issue such details when they commission. Why should the photographer be dumped in a 'don't pay' pile for not conforming with rules they depend on staff to fulfil?

8.2 Headlines corporate news ltd shall pay invoices that comply with Clause 8.1 at the end of the month following the month of invoice. Time for payment shall not be of the essence of the Contract.

In other words, if we pay late, you can't hold us to this. NB that where delivery of the photos is concerned, time is of the essence.

9. CONFIDENTIALITY & PUBLICITY 9.1 The Seller shall keep in strict confidence a... The Seller shall make no announcement or disclosure regarding the Order without Headlines corporate news ltd’ prior written consent.

Rest assured, we did not ask Headlines if we could disclose their contract.

10.1 AlI IPR that is created or is incorporated as part of the Goods or necessary to perform or arising from the performance of the Services shall vest with and be the exclusive property of Headlines corporate news ltd and the Seller shall obtain appropriate undertakings from its licensors and/or sub -contractors (if any) to vest such ownership in Headlines corporate news ltd.

So make sure you own copyright of any copyright work you include in your photos, because Headline want that assigned to them too.